Variations
By: Doug Harke
Case was also one of the pioneers in the development of four-wheel drive tractors. In the early 1960’s, they assumed that 100 horsepower was probably the limit for two-wheel drive conventional tractors and the $2000-3000 additional cost of front wheel assist drives on a tractor base price of $6000-7000 was not the way to market high horsepower tractors. They introduced the 1200 Traction King four-wheel drive tractor in 1964. It was powered by a 130 horsepower engine derived from their W-series wheel loaders. Turbocharging was necessary to increase the horsepower and some major modifications were necessary to the Lanova design of the 451 cubic inch, six cylinder diesel to prevent overheating. While most of the early four-wheel drive tractors incorporated an articulated design, Case stuck with a rigid frame and steering on both the front and rear axles. Four modes of steering could be selected including front steer, rear steer, four-wheel steer, and crab steer. This first Case four-wheel drive tractor was based heavily on their industrial wheel loader designs and the 1200 was actually built in the loader factory. Most of the 1200’s were fender tractors but a few were fitted with a cab supplied by an outside vendor. Precision Engineering, of Ohio, produces a 1/16 scale version in the regular “dessert orange” and “sunset yellow” colors and also a Black Knight version but at $300 or more these are rather pricey for a custom project.
The 1200 became the 1470 in 1968 and the 504 cubic inch turbocharged engine from the larger 70 series tractors was used. This was Case’s first “open chamber” diesel engine and it was more suited to turbocharging than the Lanova design of the 451 engine. Tests showed that the 1470 produced 145 PTO horsepower. More of the 1470’s were fitted with an aftermarket cab as integral cabs did not become common until the early 1970’s. Precision Engineering also makes a regular 1470 and a Black Knight version in 1/16 scale.
As the need for higher horsepower tractors became more apparent, Case redesigned the 1470 into the 2470 which was introduced in 1972. The 504 engine was boosted to 175 PTO horsepower and an integral cab, with noise isolation, was now part of the design. Many of the loader based drive components were replaced with more appropriate ones from outside suppliers. Even in the face of many new articulated four-wheel drive tractors, Case kept the rigid frame design with the four mode steering. The 2470 was Power Red and Dessert Sunset and was the last new Case tractor in this color scheme. As the need for even higher horsepower tractors developed, the 504 turbocharged engine of 2470 was intercooled to produce 219 PTO horsepower in the 2670 which was introduced in 1974. An even larger 2870 was brought out in 1976 but Case now had to use a 673 cubic inch six-cylinder Saab-Scania diesel engine which produced 252 PTO horsepower. Both the 2670 and 2870 were introduced in the new Power White and Power Red colors. NZG, a German manufacturer best known for their detailed constructions toys, made a nicely detailed 1/40 scale 2670 with three-point hitch in the mid 1970’s. This is a fairly scarce toy but it probably can be bought for $100 New-in-Box.
Case restyled their tractors with the introduction of the “90” series and applied this styling to the four-wheel drive tractor line renumbering the 2470 into the 4490, the 2670 into the 4690, and the 2870 into the 4890 in 1979. NZG produced a 1/35 scale 4890 and Ertl marketed a 1/32 scale 4890 in both a collectors edition and a shelf model. The NZG model might run $50 but the Ertl ones can be bought for $25 or less. Another restyling, in 1984, produced the “94” series Case tractors. There were some sheet metal changes but the major difference was a black underbody instead of the orange ones. Now the 4490 became the 4494, the 4690 became the 4694 and the 4890 became the 4894 in 1984. Power remained the same over these two styling changes in 1979 and 1984 but improvements continued in drivetrains and cabs. The big news for 1984 was the introduction of the 4994 with 344 PTO horsepower. It was powered by a Saab-Scania V-8 diesel with 866 cubic inches. Ertl made a 1/32 scale 4894 in both a shelf model and a collectors edition.
Tenneco, the holding company which also owned Case, bought the agricultural division of International Harvester in 1984, and reintroduced the 4494, 4694, 4894, and 4994 as Case-IH models in 1985. There are few real Power White 94 series four wheel drive tractors because they were on the market for only one year before red Case-IH models succeeded them. The 4494, 4694, and the 4894 were made through 1990 and the 4994 ended production during 1989. Case-IH bought out Steiger in the late 1980’s and found that the articulated models were in greater demand than the crab-steer Case models. However, the 4494 was renumbered as a 9240 and the 4894 was renumbered as the 9260 and were sold made until 1993.
Ertl painted their 1/32 scale 4894 toys red and again offered both a shelf model and a collectors edition. They made a 1/16 scale 4994 in a shelf model with singles and a collectors edition with duals. In addition, they marketed a plastic radio control 4994 in 1/32 scale. NZG made a very detailed 1/35 scale 4994 and these are quite plentiful in comparison to their earlier four-wheel drive Case toys.
Unlike the other four-wheel drive tractors that I have covered in this series, there is a better variety of Case toy tractors to customize for your collection or display.
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